Received

Evacuations and sandbagging are continuing across central NSW as rivers swell to near record levels, despite a brief reprieve from rainfall.

Major flooding will continue in NSW's inland catchments on Friday, despite much of the state being bathed in sunshine on Thursday, weather bureau senior meteorologist Dean Narramore said.

"It is extremely wet out there and many areas are experiencing major flooding right now, even though the sun is shining," he said.

The central west towns of Condoblin and Euabalong are now bracing for the worst after the Lachlan River reached 1.7m upstream at Forbes, just a fraction below the 1.8m peak recorded in 1952.

Thousands of Forbes residents were forced out of their homes by rising waters on Wednesday, as SES volunteers responded to those requiring assistance.

Heavy flooding will continue in Forbes and nearby Cottons Weir over Friday and into the weekend, as a prolonged peak passes through the battered town.

Downstream of Forbes, residents in low-lying areas of Condobolin and Euabalong have been urged to evacuate, while others braced to be cut off, with the Murray expected to peak on Monday.

Major flooding is also occurring around Hay as the Murrumbidgee River remains high.

Mildura and Boundary Bend are also on alert, as the Murray River and surrounding tributaries remain swollen.

Much of the country's southeast will experience clear conditions on Friday morning, before thunderstorms return to western NSW in the evening, Mr Narramore said.

Thunderstorms will be widespread across NSW on Saturday, before easing on Sunday afternoon.

Renewed showers are not expected to pose a flood risk.

"For our flood-affected areas of central and northern New South Wales, we're only expecting light hit-and-miss falls," Mr Narramore said.

A group of 180 Australian Defence Force personnel were deployed to the region on Wednesday afternoon to help deal with the disaster.

Some 18 Singaporean water rescue specialists also arrived in Sydney on Thursday to assist with the flood rescue effort.

The crews will undergo training before being sent to Parkes and Wagga in the coming days to help with flood rescues and evacuations.

In the 24 hours to Thursday afternoon, the SES received 284 calls for assistance and performed seven flood rescues.

© AAP 2022

A Dutch court convicted three men of murder for their role in the 2014 shooting down of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 over Ukraine, and sentenced them to life in prison in absentia.

A fourth man was acquitted.

MH17 was a passenger flight that was shot down over eastern Ukraine on July 17, 2014, killing all 298 passengers and crew, including 38 Australians.

"Only the most severe punishment is fitting to retaliate for what the suspects have done, which has caused so much suffering to so many victims and so many surviving relatives," Presiding Judge Hendrik Steenhuis said on Thursday, reading a summary of the ruling.

Families of victims stood weeping and wiping away tears in the courtroom as Steenhuis read the verdict.

The three men convicted were former Russian intelligence agents Igor Girkin and Sergey Dubinskiy, and Leonid Kharchenko, a Ukrainian separatist leader.

The three were all found to have helped to arrange the transport into Ukraine of the Russian military BUK missile system that was used to shoot down the plane, though they were not the ones that physically pulled the trigger.

They are fugitives and believed to be in Russia. Top Russian politician Andrei Klishas has told Tass news agency that Moscow would not be extraditing Girkin and Dubinskiy.

A fourth former suspect, Russian Oleg Pulatov, was acquitted on all charges.

The incident in 2014 left the plane's wreckage and victims' remains scattered across cornfields. The area at the time was the scene of fighting between pro-Russian separatists and Ukrainian forces, the precursor of this year's conflict.

Russia invaded Ukraine in February and claims to have annexed the Donetsk province where the plane was shot down.

"The families of victims wanted the truth and they wanted justice to be done and those responsible to be punished and that is what happened. I am pretty satisfied," Piet Ploeg, who heads a foundation representing victims, told Reuters. Ploeg's brother, his brother's wife and his nephew died on MH17.

The judgment included a 16 million euro ($A25 million) damages award to victims that will be paid by the Dutch state if it is not paid by the convicted men.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy hailed the first sentences handed down over MH17 as an "important decision" by the court in The Hague.

"But it is necessary that those who ordered it also end up in the dock because the feeling of impunity leads to new crimes," he wrote on Twitter. "We have to dispel this illusion. Punishment for all Russian atrocities - both then and now - will be inevitable."

Russia's foreign ministry said the court had been under unprecedented pressure from Dutch politicians, prosecutors and the media to impose a politically motivated outcome.

"The trial in the Netherlands has every chance of becoming one of the most scandalous in the history of legal proceedings," it said in a statement.

Moscow has repeatedly denied responsibility for the downing of the jet. In 2014 it also denied any presence in Ukraine.

"There is no reasonable doubt" that MH17 was shot down by a Russian missile system, Steenhuis said in his findings.

Eyewitness testimony and photographs introduced into evidence tracked the missile systems' movements in and back out of Ukraine to Russia.

Phone call intercepts that formed a key part of the evidence against the men suggested they believed they were targeting a Ukrainian fighter jet.

Steenhuis said that, while that counted for something in terms of lessening the severity of their criminal responsibility, they had still had a murderous intent and the consequences of their actions were huge.

Of the suspects, only Pulatov had pleaded not guilty via lawyers he hired to represent him. The others were tried in absentia and none attended the trial.

© RAW 2022

Anthony Albanese has touched down in Thailand after completing a successful G20 summit where he reset relationships, progressed trade talks and pushed Australia's position on climate change.

The prime minister arrived in Bangkok on Thursday evening for the APEC summit, the final leg of his nine-day tour of Southeast Asia.

Leaders from 21 Asia-Pacific economies, including Canada, the United States and New Zealand, will discuss regional trade, investment and networks.

Mr Albanese is also expected to meet Thailand's Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha.

It follows multiple first time meetings, formal bilaterals and informal catch ups on the sidelines of the G20 with his counterparts from around the world.

But his most significant success was securing a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

It marked the end of a six-year diplomatic freeze and the start of better diplomatic relations.

But all eyes will be on Mr Albanese's interactions at APEC, which Mr Xi and Hong Kong leader John Lee will attend as China increasingly flexes its security power and economic strength in the region.

Mr Albanese also did not confirm if he would have a meeting with representatives from Taiwan.

"It's good to be in Thailand for the APEC summit. This is about the economic integration with the fastest growing economies in the world in human history," he told reporters in Bangkok.

At the G20, Australia joined other nations in calling out Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.

A leaders' statement released at the end of the summit said "most members" strongly condemned Russia's invasion.

Mr Albanese noted it was the first time a statement on Ukraine had been delivered by members of the G20.

"Russia is increasingly isolated ... Australia stands with Ukraine," he said.

Mr Albanese also talked up Australia's European links, commitment to clean energy and pandemic preparation.

He put his Italian heritage front and centre during talks with his European colleagues while progressing discussions on Australia's free trade agreement with the European Union.

"There's a link between economic relationships, free trade and national security," Mr Albanese said.

"Democratic nations need to engage with each other (and) we need free and open markets that support trade that support prosperity."

Australia will also contribute $50 million to the Pandemic Fund, hosted by the World Bank, to improve pandemic prevention, preparedness and response.

© AAP 2022